Lillie with her class and teachers Mrs. Wuwert and Mrs. Washing
Jaynie's class with her teacher Mrs. Sloop
I think the girls ate more than they picked, but I guess that's what makes it so fun. 
The day of was just so amazing. I was so emotional. It felt very strange to have my child going through something so important in her little life. The spirit was very strong in the meeting. Jaynie choose to have her Grandmother's give the talks and her Grandfather's say the prayers. Aunt Kim played the piano and Aunt Kylie led the music. We were so lucky to have so many family members there. I hope this day is one that Jaynie will always remember. I am so proud of her and her choice to be baptized and I am grateful that she now has the Holy Ghost as her constant companion.
Aunt Kim, Uncle Sean, and Carter
Some good looking Erickson Girls
And of course LoloI can't believe I have an eight year old. Where does the time go. Jaynie turned 8 on April 30th. It was fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Erickson, Grandma and Grandpa Gifford and Kim, Sean and Carter here to celebrate with. Jaynie has actually been lucky to have her Grandma and Grandpa Erickson here for her birthday for the last couple of years.
Eight is such a big deal. It means of course that she will be baptised and that she will go into third grade and face the oh so daunting EOGs (End of Grade testing). It's now time for my baby to enter the big world as an accountable girl. That scares me to death, but Jaynie is up to the challenge. She is such a great little girl. She is the peace keeper in our house and at times I think she is a better mom than I am. I look forward to many wonderful years of watching her grow up. Jaynie I love you!!!
Who knew the Kitchen Aid mixer could be so dangerous. We were in the Kitchen making cupcakes for Jaynie's birthday and I went to get something from the fridge and the next thing I know Eliza is screaming and the kitchen aid is making funny noises. I ran over there and shut off the mixer, but I didn't know what to do. Her hair was a tangled mess on the beater and it wasn't coming off. Eliza was really hurt and screaming in pain, Addie was bawling and screaming, "My Liza, My Liza" and I was screaming for Kim to get scissors so we could cut off the hair that was caught, but luckily my sister the nurse can stay calm in these types of situations and calmly and gently pulled her hair off of the mixer. Thank goodness too because we were able to salvage some of the hair that was still attached to cover her new bald spot. When we got her unattached from the mixer I took her to the bath to wash out the batter and then sat down to assess the damage. This is when I really lost it. I couldn't help but cry for her. It had actually pulled a huge chunk of hair right off of her head. I could only imagine what that must of felt like. She was one brave little girl though. I just have to figure out how to do her hair now????
The tangled mess that came out as I started combing through her hair. This is a lot of hair to loose, especially for a little girl who just doesn't have much to begin with. 
Carter and Eliza on the leaf slide at the zoo. With all the animals to see this awesome playground is still the main attraction for my kids at the zoo. 
Riding the shuttle.
Grandma and Grandpa Erickson came at the end of Kim and Sean's visit for the Jaynie's baptism so we saved the zoo for when they arrived. This made it extra fun and thanks grandpa for being the designated shoulder carrier. Each of the younger kids had to have their turn on Grandpa's shoulders. Jaynie and Lillie wanted to as well, but we thought that might be asking a little too much of Grandpa.
The week before I left to go to Idaho Jaynie wanted to fast for the first time on fast Sunday. We talked to her about what she needed to do and a little about what she could fast for. She then went into a room and said a prayer and then came back and I asked her what she had decided to fast for and she said I am fasting for the house to sell. Which was obviously a great thing to fast for, but not something we had discussed so we were proud of her. Then I left for Idaho that week and the following Sunday Whit had to show the house. I thought it was so fitting that he should have to get the house ready and the girls ready all in time for church. Little did I or Whitney know that the couple that was going to come see the house were actually sitting in the congregation during sacrament meeting. The couple liked the house and wanted to see it again on Monday and before Whit left he ran into the Realtor and she asked if we happened to be Mormon and told him that the couple was Mormon and thought that we probably were. So Whit went to walk the neighborhood and Kim was outside and Whit told her that the people seeing the house were Mormon and she immediately went down to our house to talk to them and that was all it took. Basically Kim acted as our Mormon agent and sold our house for us. She told them how great our neighborhood was and how there were five Mormon families in the neighborhood, which for North Carolina is pretty rare. They called with an offer later that night. So we owe it all to Kim and now we have great new neighbors, friends, and ward members in the Browns. We truly feel blessed and have felt the Lord's hand in this whole process and we have had the great opportunity to show our children, particularly Jaynie, the power of fasting and prayer.
This was our first house and we will miss it so much. A lot of blood sweat and tears went into that house and I think it shows. It truly is a great house. We think the Brown's are pretty lucky to have it. Sorry about all the pictures, but I wanted to preserve the memory of our house on the blog. 
